Walmart Has Built a Digital Powerhouse\u2014With Help From WhatsApp<\/p>\n
5 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Walmart is sliding into its Chilean shoppers’ DMs\u2014and it’s working.\n<\/p>\n
The retail giant’s WhatsApp prompts asking if customers would like to restock their usual goods are so successful that they’re the basis for a fifth of its local e-commerce business, the company said, a development that highlights just how far Walmart (WMT<\/a>) has come from its days as a big-box chain.\n<\/p>\n Walmart’s e-commerce business is booming.<\/p>\n Lindsey Nicholson \/ UCG \/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n E-commerce accounts for nearly a third of Walmart’s international business, and about half of its sales in China, the\u00a0company said Thursday<\/a>. Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce transactions jumped 28% last quarter, the company said. Digital sales have now increased more than 20% in the U.S. for seven straight quarters, Walmart executives said on a conference call Thursday.<\/p>\n Walmart has refined its approach to digital orders, making its e-commerce business profitable, company leaders said. About half of the material processed by U.S. fulfillment centers is handled via automation, and many stores receive merchandise from automated distribution centers, they said. This has helped Walmart reduce its expenses by some 30% for several quarters, the company said.\n<\/p>\n Do Nvidia Earnings Put Fears of an AI Stock Market Bubble to Rest?<\/p>\n 23 minutes ago<\/p>\n A lot hinged on Nvidia\u2019s (NVDA<\/a>) earnings report, and the AI chip giant didn’t disappoint.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cThese results and commentary should help steady the ship for the AI trade into the end of the year,\u201d wrote Jefferies analysts in a note on Thursday.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The\u00a0late-Wednesday report<\/a>\u00a0from the company at the center of the AI boom came at a precarious time for the AI rally. The debate about whether AI stocks were in a bubble reached a new level of intensity in recent weeks, driven by concerns about the size of the tech sector\u2019s data center spending, the longevity of AI infrastructure, and the nascent technology\u2019s commercial potential.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Stocks have been under pressure in recent weeks owing to concerns about the sustainability of an AI-fueled rally that has lifted major indexes to a series of record highs.<\/p>\n Spencer Platt \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n The market’s reaction on Thursday demonstrated that the debate is far from settled. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared more than 2% early in the session, before sliding to trade down nearly 2% in the afternoon. Nvidia stock, which jumped 5% Thursday morning, was recently down almost 3%.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –Colin Laidley<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Dow Swings More Than 1,100 Points Thursday<\/p>\n 1 hr 32 min ago<\/p>\n The Dow Jones Industrial Average has had quite a shift Thursday, and there are still more than two hours to go in the trading day.\n<\/p>\n The blue-chip index rose 718 from yesterday’s close to 46856 Thursday morning. But its Nvidia-led rally petered out, and it turned lower by noon, eventually falling as low as 45741\u2014an 1,115-point swing.\n<\/p>\n The last time the Dow registered a swing that large was Oct. 10, when its high-to-low swing went from from 46641 to 45470.\n<\/p>\n The Dow recently was down 0.5%, or about 220 points.\n<\/p>\n \u2014UPDATE and CORRECTION: This post has been updated to correct the date of the last 1,100-point Dow swing and to reflect the latest market information.\n<\/p>\n ‘There’s Definitely a Bubble’ In Markets, Ray Dalio Says. Here’s His Latest Advice<\/p>\n 1 hr 52 min ago<\/p>\n Thought the market-bubble talk was over after Nvidia’s latest earnings? Nobody told Ray Dalio.\n<\/p>\n “There’s definitely a bubble in markets,” said Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, in an interview with CNBC Thursday morning. “But we don’t have the pricking of the bubble yet.”\n<\/p>\n Investors may be listening. Major stock market indexes were recently in the red, losing ground gained after Nvidia’s (NVDA<\/a>)\u00a0results<\/a>\u00a0seemed to ease concerns that the AI rally was caused by hot air. And when the balloon is inevitably pricked, according to Dalio, it will neither be shielded nor caused by one company’s very good\u2014or very bad\u2014numbers.\n<\/p>\n Amal Alhasan \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n “Bubbles don’t burst because people wake up one morning and determine that there won’t be enough revenue and profits to justify the price,” he wrote in a blog post Thursday morning.\n<\/p>\n Rather, he said, bubbles happen when people decide they need to trade financial wealth\u2014like that represented by assets with inflated values\u2014for hard cash. What follows after is a decline in markets, economies, and also major political change, he said.\n<\/p>\n Dalio isn’t advising investors to sell simply because a bubble exists. He does, however, recommend protection\u2014owning gold, for example, or unloading any “significant credit exposures.”\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –Crystal Kim<\/a>\n<\/p>\n What Do Nvidia’s Earnings Mean for the AI Trade and Markets? Experts Weigh In<\/p>\n 1 hr 57 min ago<\/p>\n he highly anticipated results from chip giant Nvidia\u00a0alleviated worries on Wall Street about the health of the AI trade.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The concerns may not have been completely extinguished with Nvidia’s (NVDA<\/a>)\u00a0better-than-expected report<\/a>, but many market watchers followed the late-Wednesday release of the results with broadly bullish calls.\n<\/p>\n Here’s a roundup of some of that sentiment:\n<\/p>\n “AI is driving global growth by offsetting trade-related headwinds,” Barclays analyst Ajay Rajadhyaksha wrote Thursday. “We expect AI to be the most important macro factor in 2026, as traditional drivers such as monetary policy and trade policy fade. We think fears of a collapse in the AI narrative are overdone and expect the economic expansion to continue for yet another year.”\n<\/p>\n Many Wall Street experts are singing upbeat tunes about the effect of AI on markets in the wake of Nvidia’s earnings.<\/p>\n Spencer Platt \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n From Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion: “Nvidia just reaffirmed its role as the market\u2019s sentiment anchor,” he said in emailed comments. “A good report from Nvidia usually lifts the whole tech sector. At this point everyone knows companies are spending on AI, the real question is how fast it\u2019s still growing and what future quarters look like, and Nvidia gives us the clearest sightlines into that.\u00a0The takeaway from this beat is simple:\u00a0AI spending isn\u2019t just holding up, it’s accelerating.\u00a0That\u2019s exactly what the market needed to see.”\n<\/p>\n Jefferies analysts lifted their price target on Nvidia’s stock by $10 to $250. “Over the past few weeks, investor debates on topics such as the durability of AI spend … have amplified,” they wrote. “We don’t expect every AI bear to be satisfied, but these results and added context from management around demand outlook should offer some near-term reprieve.”\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –David Marino-Nachison<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Stock Surges on FDA Approval of Eye Treatment<\/p>\n 2 hr 19 min ago<\/p>\n Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) was one of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Thursday, a day after the firm said the Food and Drug Administration had approved its Eylea HD treatment.\n<\/p>\n Shares were up more than 5% in recent trading at a time when the benchmark index was more than 1% lower.\n<\/p>\n Regeneron said the FDA had approved its 8-mg injection “for the treatment of patients with macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO) with up to every 8-week dosing after an initial monthly dosing period.”\n<\/p>\n With today’s gains, shares of the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based firm moved into positive territory for 2025.<\/p>\n TradingView<\/p>\n Employment Report Doesn’t Settle the Fed’s Rate Cut Debate<\/p>\n 3 hr 40 min ago<\/p>\n Thursday’s report on job growth and unemployment in September shed light on the health of the job market but didn’t make clear whether the Federal Reserve needs to save it by cutting interest rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report, which showed the job market\u00a0added an unexpectedly high 119,000 jobs<\/a>\u00a0in September, did little to shift expectations about whether the Federal Open Market Committee will cut interest rates when it next meets in December.\n<\/p>\n Al Drago \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n Financial markets were pricing in a 40% chance of a rate cut Thursday morning, up from 30% the day before, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.\n<\/p>\n Fed officials have been eager for any scrap of data indicating the health of the job market as they debate whether to cut interest rates to boost hiring with easy money or keep rates higher for longer to combat inflation.\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –Diccon Hyatt<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Nvidia Might Be the Story of the Moment\u2014But Walmart Stock Is Rising Even More Today<\/p>\n 3 hr 55 min ago<\/p>\n Shares of Walmart jumped Thursday, putting them among the S&P 500’s top gainers, after the company reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street’s estimates and boosted its outlook.\n<\/p>\n Walmart (WMT<\/a>) earned an adjusted $0.62 per share in the third quarter of its 2026 fiscal year, 2 cents above the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue rose 5.8% from the same time a year ago to $179.5 billion, $2 billion more\u00a0than analysts had forecast<\/a>. Walmart’s comparable sales rose by 4.2%, just above the analyst estimate. Walmart’s e-commerce sales rose 27%, and the company’s advertising revenue grew 53%.\n<\/p>\n Jakub Porzycki \/ NurPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n The company also lifted its full-year outlook for sales and adjusted EPS. Revenue is expected to rise 4.8% to 5.1% in the full fiscal year, up from 3.75% to 4.75% previously, and adjusted EPS is now forecast at $2.58 to $2.63, up slightly from the prior range of $2.52 to $2.62.\n<\/p>\n The numbers are a sign that American consumers\u00a0continue to spend<\/a>\u00a0as the holiday selling season picks up steam. Walmart shares were up 6%\u00a0in recent trading<\/a>, working their way back in the direction of recent highs after a late-October slide. Since the start of the year, they have gained nearly 15%.\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –Aaron McDade<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Jacobs Solutions Stock Leads S&P 500 Decliners as Q4 Profit Sinks<\/p>\n 4 hr 7 min ago<\/p>\n Jacobs Solutions (J<\/a>) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 Thursday after it reported disappointing GAAP<\/a> profit.\n<\/p>\n The Dallas-based engineering and consulting firm reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.05 per share, down 56% year-over-year. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $1.44.\n<\/p>\n Jacobs Solutions attributed the net income decrease to “mark-to-market gains\/losses in the comparable period from our previous stake in Amentum stock.”\n<\/p>\n Adjusted earnings of $1.75 per share and revenue of $3.15 billion topped expectations.\n<\/p>\n Shares of Jacobs Solutions sank 7.5% and now are up just 1% this year.\n<\/p>\n TradingView<\/p>\n All 11 S&P 500 Sectors in the Green Today<\/p>\n 5 hr 3 min ago<\/p>\n With the S&P 500 surging about 1.7% Thursday morning, not a single sector was trading in the red.\n<\/p>\n All 11 sectors tracked by the benchmark index were in the green about an hour after the opening bell, led by Information Technology and Communication Services, which were up about 2.1% each.\n<\/p>\n Health Care shares were up the smallest amount at 0.1%.\n<\/p>\n What’s Driving Foreclosures Higher? Government-Backed Loans<\/p>\n 5 hr 18 min ago<\/p>\n Foreclosure activity is rising across the country, but not necessarily for everyone.\n<\/p>\n Recent data shows that rising delinquencies and foreclosures in government-backed Federal Housing Administration loans are driving the increase. Analysts said this indicates a growing disparity between wealthy and lower-income homebuyers.\n<\/p>\n Reicaden \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n Nearly 12% of FHA borrowers in September were past due on mortgage payments, compared with 3.5% of all mortgage holders, according to data released by mortgage data firm Intercontinental Exchange.\u00a0Meanwhile, foreclosure starts rose by 23% in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year ago, the data showed. Still, that’s 18% below the pre-pandemic foreclosure starts rate in the third quarter of 2019.1\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou can very clearly see those delinquency rates trending higher. So [it’s] another indication of that K-shaped economy that we’re seeing play out in the broader U.S. economy,\u201d said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing research at Intercontinental Exchange.\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –Terry Lane<\/a>\n<\/p>\n September’s Job Data Is Finally Out\u2014Here’s What It Revealed<\/p>\n 5 hr 37 min ago<\/p>\n More people got hired in September than forecasters expected, and more were unemployed too, according to a highly anticipated and long-delayed report on the labor market.<\/p>\n The U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September, rebounding from a loss of 4,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. That was more than double the 50,000 forecasters had expected, according to a survey of economists by\u00a0Dow Jones Newswires\u00a0and\u00a0The Wall Street Journal. After taking into account job losses over the summer, the job creation has been flat since April. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3%, reaching a fresh high since October 2021.\n<\/p>\n Thursday’s report was the first major data on the job market published by government statistical agencies since September. It was originally supposed to be published Oct. 3, but was delayed by the government shutdown. Overall, it painted a mixed picture of the health of the labor market.\n<\/p>\n David Paul Morris \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n The number of jobs added was the most since May, but was below the monthly average of 147,000 in the 12 months through April. In addition, the previous two months of job growth were downwardly revised by 33,000.<\/p>\n The labor force participation rate rose to 62.4% from 62,3% in August, reaching its highest since May but remaining well below typical pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n Most of the job gains came from health care, leisure, and retail sectors. Federal government employment fell by 3,000. Manufacturing lost 6,000 jobs, the fifth decline in as many months. The manufacturing sector has lost jobs every month since President Donald Trump announced sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs intended to give U.S. factories an edge over foreign competition.\n<\/p>\n –Diccon Hyatt<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Is the Shrinking Trade Deficit About to Give GDP a Lift?<\/p>\n 5 hr 52 min ago<\/p>\n The U.S. trade deficit fell sharply in August as newly released information showed imports are declining in the wake of President Donald Trump\u2019s wide-ranging tariff policies.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. The delayed report showed the difference between imports and exports narrowed by $18.6 billion to a total of $59.6 billion.\n<\/p>\n The U.S. trade deficit sank in August as imports declined following a new set of tariffs from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n The Trump administration introduced a\u00a0series of new tariffs<\/a>\u00a0that month, and imports declined by more than 5% from the July reading, while exports increased slightly.\n<\/p>\n The August trade data, which had been\u00a0delayed due to the government shutdown<\/a>, follows a July reading that showed the\u00a0trade deficit increased on higher imports<\/a>\u00a0ahead of the\u00a0August tariff deadline<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Read the full article here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n –Terry Lane<\/a><\/p>\n Bath & Body Works Stock Plummets on Weak Results, Cut Outlook<\/p>\n 6 hr 44 min ago<\/p>\n